News & Views

First-of-its-kind awards program recognizes importance
of STEM for children, helps parents make the smart choice

Nov. 1, 2018, New York City — Parents increasingly recognize the importance of teaching children STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering and Math — to prepare them for the future. Because children learn from play, toys are their first and best introduction to STEM concepts.

But what really qualifies a toy as STEM?

Child’s Play Communications today announced the winners of the inaugural Seriously STEM awards, a new program designed exclusively to review and evaluate STEM toys for kids.

“Not every toy genuinely teaches STEM skills,” said Child’s Play Communications president, Stephanie Azzarone. “Our goal is to offer valuable information to all those parents who understand the benefits of their kids’ learning STEM but who need help making the right STEM product choices, not only during holiday shopping season but throughout the year.”

Child’s Play partnered with STEM.org and an outstanding panel of independent judges — educators, industry play experts and toy reviewers — with real expertise specifically in children and STEM to evaluate the toys submitted for review. Among them were a math professor at Stanford University, the vice president of STEM education at Liberty Science Center, and the founder of STEM.org.

The winners of the 2018 Seriously STEM Awards are:

Science: Circuit Conductor, from Pai Technology

Technology: Sketch Kit, from Wonder Workshop

Engineering: SNAP CIRCUITS® BRIC: STRUCTURES, from Elenco

Math: No Winner

The Grand Prize winner — the toy that generated the most points from judges, across the board — is Wonder Workshop’s Sketch Kit.

There were also winners in specific age categories within the subjects. A full list of winners may be found here.

Criteria included whether the toy taught skills such as critical thinking and problem solving, inspired creativity, included hands-on experiences and was targeted to the appropriate age range, among other considerations.

Winners were announced November 1 at the third annual Kids’ & Family Tech Expo in New York City, along with a $1,000 Seriously STEM Awards donation to the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

Child’s Play Communications specializes in publicity, social media and events for children’s products, especially toys, and has counted many STEM brands among its clients.

About Child’s Play Communications

Child’s Play Communications specializes in promoting products and services for kids and parents — and consumer technology — through public relations, social influencers, social media content and events. The agency has successfully launched emerging companies and supported global brands, including Hasbro, Sony, Spin Master, Disney and Warner Bros. It is also the creator of the Kids’ & Family Tech Expo, the first media event specifically for tech products designed for children and parents, and the Seriously STEM Awards. Based in New York City, the award-winning agency offers an exciting array of proprietary services to engage its target market. For additional information, please visit our web site at ChildsPlayPR.com, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter or Instagram.

About Child’s Play Communications

Child’s Play focuses on products and services for babies, kids, moms and dads – and consumer technology for men and women of all ages and stages of life.

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